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We are officially one month away from the October 14 premiere of RWBY Volume 5! The entire RT Animation crew has been making amazing happen every day, and we can't wait to show you what's in store for this volume.

This past year, we switched to a 7-day exclusive window for FIRST members for many of our shows, and we've greatly appreciated your viewership and feedback. (For more information on why we went this route, check out this journal post.) We understand and recognize that RWBY is a unique show with a unique audience, and we’ve been listening to all your feedback on the 7-day window as the year has progressed. We want to make sure we can help facilitate the community interaction and conversation around every episode. With your feedback top of mind, we decided to implement a 3-day FIRST-exclusive window for RWBY. So the schedule will be as follows:

Saturdays starting October 14 at 10am CT: FIRST members

Tuesdays starting October 17 at 10am CT: Free for all registered RoosterTeeth.com members

Saturdays starting October 21 (a week after airing) at 10am CT: Free for everyone on RoosterTeeth.com (and new episode premieres for FIRST members)

Once again, we are so thankful for your support and feedback as we try new things. Our community continues to impress us, and prove that you are the best group of people in the world.

And don’t forget, if you live in the US and want to see Volume 5 Chapter 1 even earlier, it will be in theaters around the US on October 12! You can get tickets here.

Stay tuned for more details of what's coming down the pipeline. We have an incredible year ahead of us! As always, send over your questions below and I'll answer them through the next day or so.

Comments (79)

xeitgeixtFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

Personally I think 3 is a decent compromise between 1 and 7 days, but still not ideal. I understand that they want to incentivise First memberships and make those directly contributing feel like they're rewarded for signing up, but increasing the wait time is essentially holding the show ransom (literally for money). Which when you remember that the show was originally uploaded to Youtube on the same day, this feels a little like "Oh, now that it's a Big Deal you have to pay or else get spoiled to death by TruFans while waiting". One day was understandable, enough time for most First members to see it before it's released for the rest of the site members, get their money's worth along with all the other perks of membership, but 3 feels like a little much - especially when you consider most TV networks have their shows up for watching on their websites/apps the next day (usually with no membership required). And don't forget that a lot of fans are poor or are younger and don't have jobs yet, so they have no disposable income to spend on memberships to websites, even if it's a website they love. Maybe they already took all that into account when they made the call for it to be 3 days, maybe they didn't. Just my two (three?) cents.

I'm personally okay with this, even though I'm a new First member. The time gap doesn't effect me, and hasn't in the past, because I prefer to just binge seasons when they're done. I do appreciate having the option of earlier access to new episodes, though.

No mods

ShmittlesFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

Still wish it was more like 2 days, but get that the business side of things demands more FIRST incentivization. Definitely an improvement on last year's situation that de-synced the entire RWBY community by a week.

I was unhappy with the 7 days because it felt like the community was just bring split in 2. But this seems like a nice compromise. Also will shows like camp camp and rvb be adopting this schedule?

+3 Ditto

Bio00FIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

So last year they tried to do the week long gap and stopped because so many of the fans were against it.

They try to do it again this year and didn't change it back since less people complained probably, cause why would you complain again when it turns out they didn't actually listen to you the first time, and now its down to three days.

Does anyone else get the feeling the 7 days thing was done so that they could introduce the 3 day break and it seemed amazing when compared to the 7 day gap?

I really hope thats not it, I really do, but its the feeling i get.

-3 Lame

ShmittlesFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

Not specifically this scenario, but I do think the 7-day thing was indeed a way of gauging community reception to determin how it should be handled going forward. I'm more inclinded to think that this result was one of multiple scenarios they had in mind. I imagine their thought process was that 1 day wasn't enough lead time to truely incentivize First membership with this show, so they overshot it to 1 week to see what would happen. And they kept it that way for the whole season, despite all the negative feedback, to show that they wouldn't simply/quickly budge on the community's whim. Now that it's in the past, yes, it does soften the blow in finding this new equilibrium.

+2 Ditto

V2BlastFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

"And they kept it that way for the whole season, despite all the negative

feedback, to show that they wouldn't simply/quickly budge on the community's whim."

I don't think that's the reason; I think it's because people always react negatively at first to major changes, so they need to give it time to see whether people get used to it or whether people are still unhappy with the change.

But otherwise, I agree with your logic.

+2 Ditto

Bio00FIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

In my own experience its that they stopped complaining cause it felt like nobody would actually listen to them. So if they were just gonna be ignored, what would be the point of voicing there opinion unless it was positive?

No mods

V2BlastFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

@Bio00: My point is that virtually no company will make a change and then immediately revert it at the first sign of negative feedback unless it fundamentally breaks something. Also, I think these sorts of decisions are made primarily based on metrics like views, where people are watching videos, when they watch them, etc. rather than just based on the comparatively few people who vocally speak out.

+1 Ditto

vortigaunt20FIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

Well, it's still not as soon as I would like, but at least it's not a week! And thank you so very much for listening to out feedback!!

+2 Ditto

GoofOffFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

this sounds great, personally as a first member i appreciate getting it early, but the big problem i see is that it should be released 6 days after, not seven, as that means the site is getting slammed by public and first members every saturday excluding the first week. the last few years i occasionally take advantage of the first day release because i would always get hit with lower res and stops for buffering.

+0 Ditto

EzioAuditore123.FIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

Your Customer Support number is t working for some reason! I need you to give me a numer that'll work! PLEASE!!!

Dinobot01FIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

To everyone who read the comment on my post. That was my niece who typed that she's seven years old and one of RWBYs biggest fans. When she read that the show would be released three days later on a school night, she got upset. I've given her a talking to and explained why moving the show to Tuesdays is a fair idea. She's still not going for it, but I'm sure she'll come around. I am a RWBY fan too and I personally think it's a good day. It makes more sense to me. So, if anyone was angered by my nieces comment, I deeply apologize.

I was wondering where that post came from. You're normally one of the more calm posters I've seen on the discussion board, and your earlier comment set off a bit of an alarm in my head. I'm sure your niece will come around to it; after all, a three day wait is certainly more manageable than an entire week wait. But, uh, just make sure she's careful surfing the Internet until then!

+1 Ditto

gem_scheltemaFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

I don't get angry at people on the internet, and I'm sorry if I upset your niece any further. I'm pretty sure if I was seven and had to wait for my favourite show, I'd be sad. I still stand by what I said though, if I had known it was a seven year old, I'd probably have said it slightly different. She'd a cool kid for liking such a great show. Maybe she'd like it better if she knew that just like the RWBY gang, getting through something that's tough will teach you valuable skills. Being patient, or being able to want to succeed enough to be able to afford a membership, are things I would encourage in children.

I've noticed that for several theaters, mainly ones that do ticketing through Cinemark, it seems that you can't order the tickets yet? Looking for Oct 12th shows no advanced tickets or no option for RWBY Volume 5. Is there a certain date they will become available? I'm worried the tickets are going to pop up last minute and then disappear.

+1 Ditto

isbelldlFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

Try Fandango. They have them for the Cinemark in Huntsville, so I'm assuming they do for other locations as well.

No mods

ebregmanFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
Programming & SVOD

1 year ago

@Kaz_M I asked our partners Fathom about this, and it should be resolved now. They tell us ticketing set up is a manual process that happens at the local theatre level, so it is not uncommon to have a few stragglers that are slow to set up. Sorry for the inconvenience, enjoy the show!

a 3 day wait is better then a 7 day wait... it will hep fans stay on the same page and first members not being a episode in fount of non first members all the time. also less time for spoilers to pop up

still liked it more when it was a day wait.... but that's just me. I only watch a few shows so buying first membership isn't work it for me

+5 Ditto

isbelldlFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

As a First member, I also preferred the 1-day wait. I don't want to be confused about which friends have seen what when I want to talk about it with them.

+3 Ditto

korbitrFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
Roller of Ones

1 year ago

3 days seems pretty fair actually. You guys should implement this for RvB and Camp Camp next year!

+2 Cool

ebregmanFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
Programming & SVOD

1 year ago

We evaluate each show on its own, and thankfully have the ability to be flexible depending on what we see will benefit each show. RvB and Camp Camp both had fantastic seasons by all measures, plus just amazing writing and directing and animation all around, but no doubt we will learn from this release pattern for RWBY and see if it makes sense for any other shows as well.

+5 Cool

AgentWashingtub008FIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
Crackpot of Coffee

1 year ago

I believe this is a fantastic step towards bringing the conversations back to the site and in making a fair but RT focused release schedule. I'd like to see it be put into effect for all narrative and main-stay not-live shows, but I realize this is a process.

Thanks for all of the work.

+4 Ditto

Dinobot01FIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

So instead of regular members seeing it one day after the FIRST members, we now have to wait three days?! How is that a good idea and fair?

-18 Noob

boglenightFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

Fair? It's totally fair, those FIRST members directly support RoosterTeeth. What's not fair is you expecting this to be a charity venture, RoosterTeeth is a company and they can price their product however they want, what's not fair is that even though they're kind to all their members and make membership only five dollars a month, you still sit here and complain, instead of getting off your lazy ass and working a little more to get the pocket change you need to become a FIRST member.

+18 Ditto

gem_scheltemaFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

Maybe ask yourself if it's fair that those that pay are to be treated like those that contribute no direct revenue to the company. Sorry if it's harsh, but I don't give them my money to be a chump, it's so I can see stuff early if I want.

+7 Ditto

ZenLikeCalmFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

Oh, you need to wait an extra two days to see that expensive animated production shown to you free of charge? Poor you.

I dearly hope this policy shift is applied to all future content other then RWBY. Otherwise I as a Red vs Blue fan will be extremely annoyed. One show should not get special treatement over the other.

This should ether become the universal policy or you should not change the policy at all.

+2 Ditto

AgentWashingtub008FIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
Crackpot of Coffee

1 year ago

I agree that this should become the norm for all narrative/major content that is itself not time sensitive (an announcement should go public immediately and behind the scenes/supplemental material can have some more latency (like it used to be)). Podcasts should keep their current release schedule.

+1 Ditto

JekyllandHydeFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

I think rwby has an audience outside of RT that watches only that and it's more of a show for outsiders , most of their other stuff seems to be more for RT fans or have fans that are already RT fans and a fan of other or all RT content. So changing the window for this show singly makes sense so non RT fans can enjoy to easier I guess. Hard to explain fully what I mean

+1 Ditto

MondlichtFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
Tech-Priest of the 535

1 year ago

You are saying the company should only make big sweeping changes or stay stagnant forever. No iteration no experimentation. I hope you can see how asinine that is.

I for one like that they are listening to feedback and trying a middle ground approach to see what the response is.

Question: Are there plans to allow for account linking between VRV and your main site?

+2 Ditto

ebregmanFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
Programming & SVOD

1 year ago

Yes! There is some work to be done on both sides before this happens but that has been the plan all along.

+4 Cool

nicus9FIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

Any decisions on Youtube and Crunchyroll? I'd prefer everyone watch it here and support you guys but I know some people won't so it'd be good to have the information for them.

Also, is it a good idea to make the RWBY episode free to everyone at the same time the new RWBY episode comes out for First members? In the past the site has crashed pretty consistently, so having people overwhelm the site for two episodes at the same time makes me feel sorry for the tech team lol

+5 Ditto

korbitrFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
Roller of Ones

1 year ago

For YouTube, it will probably be the same 1 week gap, and I'm guessing that the number of people who don't have an account and watch the show on the RT site instead of it's YouTube release is very small, so site traffic shouldn't be an issue in that regard...

No mods

ebregmanFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
Programming & SVOD

1 year ago

RWBY episodes will be free to watch for everyone on RT.com and YouTube one week after they premiere for FIRST members. Working on the CR premiere as I type in fact.

We try to make the best decisions despite potential platform limitations, and adapt the platform to what we feel are the right programming decisions. Our website is primed and ready for this year!

+4 Cool

GoofOffFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

yeah i just left a comment on the same, but i dont experience crashes, but always major slowdowns. i really want a 6 day delay for all public, not 7... normally ill just wait a day

I have to say, this doesn't fix the problem it should of been left first get it a day early with non-first site members getting it a day after first then it being released on YouTube a week later. Which i was lead to believe this was the case as when the first post about show timetables came out it was stated at rwbys wouldn't be changing and it was staying same, as spoilers are a problem. As well I've also noted through watching the changes at it feels as if Non-First are being pushed to the side as First made the top priority. which sucks for does of us who aren't first as it hurts us and forces to extremes to see shows early. Hopefully Roosterteeth reads this understands my point of view on the matter (This isn't bashing Roosterteeth, I posted this to voice my concerns.)

-7 Ditto

RudeOstrichFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

You mean the people who quite literally pay RT salaries getting a SLIGHT preference is too hard for you to grasp?

Devine41FIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

So your concern is that those that paid money to the company are getting treated better then those that are free members to the website because they get a few days early access? (Honestly just trying to get a solid answer since our post was so long and I personally couldn't found a solid reasoning to it. I may be the idiot here)

+6 Ditto

gem_scheltemaFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

Your point being...FIRST members are being made top priority? The membership is called FIRST; we're put first in line to see things first, because our money helps RT make content. Such as RWBY. With the show growing, the CRWBY have to get paid, the resources used to make it need to be paid for. It's not all going to come from ad revenue or merch, and your viewership, despite being appreciated, isn't worth as much as people that pay. As much as it might annoy you, it's how the world works in business.

Gem, you have it but what your saying is the problem, it shouldn't be about who makes you money over who doesn't it should about the fans as a whole, the way their handling it now is basicly Segregating their fanbase to None-First users and First users. As for first making rooster teeth money, Well they do make them money but they also have their store and Ad Revenue. Also I don't have problem with First seeing things early, That was when it was a day early mind you,

-4 Noob

maverickmakFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

Ad revenue is shite across the board these days. First memberships are more important to RT than ever.

+4 Ditto

tunac4ptorFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

I have an idea if you don't want spoilers. Pay the few dollars a month to support the people making a show you don't want spoilers for? Rooster Teeth doesn't have to let you watch their content for free, they're letting you do so. This 3 day wait period is incentive to get more people to sign up because you know what? RT deserves monthly subscribers. They do so much and ask for so little. And if you steal, well, just go and listen to the podcasts where they call pirates scumbags to get my feelings about that situation.

Tunac, Welcome to real world where not all people don't have the money to that, and to go back what i said earlier it shouldn't be about money it should be about fanbase as a whole

-2 Noob

icematt12FIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

3 days to me is quite fair considering other companies give a week exclusivity for paying customers. I just hope this 3 day period is enough for all First members to get a flawless experience watching the episode when they choose to.

You talk about not segregating but considering certain content will always be First exclusive doesn't that happen anyway?

+3 Zing!

gem_scheltemaFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

I'm sorry that you feel that you're being segregated. But that's literally down to your feelings. I would have to tell you, no, welcome to the REAL world where they're not making as much money as you think they are from YouTube ads. Their content is not 'family friendly' and censoring it to be would take away what we love about Rooster Teeth. Nor are they making all the money from their store. They pay to make the stuff they sell, and make a profit, but they're still paying for salaries, equipment, and bills. So yes, it really is about who is making them money - without them they're going to eventually go under. There are hundreds of thousands of FIRST members that literally contribute to their budget.

Nothing is free, for us, or for them. They gotta pay the bills, and if you gotta pay yours and can't afford the membership, that's just life. Imagine if you had people contributing to your budgeting that allowed you to pay for your bills and for a membership to watch content a little earlier than other people - would you want to treat them better so they want to stick around? I know I would. The whole point is to have an offer that's better to entice people to give them money to keep running the company, let alone for expanding it. In the end, you actually ARE getting something for free.

If it affects you that badly that you have to wait three days to watch it, you get the money to pay for it, not blame them for trying to stay financially stable. I've sacrificed things to pay for my membership, because it's my choice to put my money into supporting the things I enjoy. It's actually more expensive, with the exchange rate, but in the end, paying for an extra box of merchandise this way is much cheaper than buying things from the U.S. store (because our store has half the stock). It's also just possible right now for me to do it, and if that changed, I wouldn't change my mind about the windowing time. The scheduling you see as a non-paying member is regular. If you pay, you see it earlier. And that is only possible because they have the money to finish whatever we are seeing - RvB or RWBY - before the time other people are seeing it.

+4 Ditto

blspeiserFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

Thanks, this is great! Appreciate it.

+1 Ditto

meelis13FIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
Estonian

1 year ago

Thank you! That spacing is decent- not too soon, but not too late, so that everyone can still discuss the episode before first members move on to new one. I really hope this will apply to next season of RvB too.

PS! wow, only month remaining? geesh, time really has flown this year

+7 Ditto

ebregmanFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
Programming & SVOD

1 year ago

Tell me about it, my wife had a baby in January and the baby is about to turn 8 months old and I am an old man now

+5 Cool

daniel_nyeFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
Burnie Coin Club Member

1 year ago

Awesome I can't wait. All I wanna hear now is what the presence of RWBY will be like at RTXLondon and I'm happy

No mods

KaitoDanFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
ThatKaitoDan

1 year ago

Regarding reaction content on Youtube, would you prefer them to still be released on the Saturday's full public release (week after the initial release) or the Tuesday release?

+3 Ditto

maverickmakFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

I would think the rule is still to wait until the content is on youtube before you post.

+4 Ditto

ebregmanFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
Programming & SVOD

1 year ago

We don't have an official rule on this but I know people generally prefer if an episode is public on a platform before anything even potentially spoiler-y comes out on that same platform.

This is a good chance for me to repost a link to our Content Usage Guidelines, which answers questions like this and a few more too: http://roosterteeth.com/about/faq/content-usage-guidelines

Quick Question, for the theater event it says that the run time is going to be an Hour and 45 minutes. I expect the first episode of the new Volume might last like at most 20-25 mins. So what's going to be happening for the additional like Hour and 20 mins that we're going to be in the theater? Is it just going to be interviews with cast and crew playing or like what are we say'n here?

+5 Ditto

daniel_nyeFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
Burnie Coin Club Member

1 year ago

Q&A with the crew behind the show.

+1 Cool

ebregmanFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
Programming & SVOD

1 year ago

It will also include a few episodes from Vol 4 (first time on the big screen!), exclusive interviews with the CRWBY, and we just confirmed a really special bonus something that may or may not mean you should stay until after the credits.

+5 Zing!

GyunFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
Awesome Nerd

1 year ago

So very much EXCITES!

No mods

THEJamesKirkFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
Lover of Cheesecake

1 year ago

I think this is a great compromise personally. Doesn't affect me too much as a FIRST member but I appreciate others won't have to wait too long.

+9 Ditto

Shad_StangFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold

1 year ago

Are there any planned exclusives for Crunchyroll? I am assuming they'll get it on the following Saturday with YouTube?

+3 Ditto

ebregmanFIRST Member Star(s)Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold
Programming & SVOD

1 year ago

No exclusives planned for our friends at CR but stay tuned for some more stuff coming to FIRST that we think you'll like! And yes YT will have the episodes after 1 week as always.